BASC Condemned Balochistan CM's threats of collective punishment

London [UK], February 3 (ANI): The Baloch Advocacy and Studies Center (BASC) expressed grave concern over public threats made by the Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, warning of collective punishment against the family members of individuals accused of involvement in the Baloch armed resistance.
According to BASC, the remarks were made following a series of attacks claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army targeting security forces and government installations across multiple districts of Balochistan. In a public statement, Bugti said that families of those linked to armed resistance would "not be allowed to live normal lives," suggesting possible loss of employment, detention, and denial of access to education and healthcare.
BASC said the language constituted a serious abuse of public office. Declaring individuals guilty solely on the basis of family ties, the organisation stated, was unlawful, unconstitutional, and morally indefensible. Collective punishment, BASC said, violated Pakistan's Constitution as well as fundamental principles of justice and human rights. The group stressed that targeting non-combatant civilians under the guise of counter-insurgency could not be justified under any legal or ethical framework, adding that the state's responsibility was to pursue individuals accused of crimes through lawful means rather than intimidating or punishing their families.
The organisation said such actions reflected a broader and recurring pattern. In its human rights report published last year, BASC documented repeated instances of state retaliation against non-combatant civilians following attacks attributed to Baloch armed resistance groups. These practices, BASC said, stood in stark contrast to the state's longstanding failure to respond effectively to violence carried out by internationally recognised terrorist organisations operating in the region.
BASC also referred to events in May 2024, when Allah Rakhiya, described as a close associate of the Chief Minister, was killed in Sui, Dera Bugti. Bugti publicly blamed Baloch armed resistance groups for the killing, despite police confirming that the motive remained unverified. BASC reported that, in the aftermath, 29 individuals from Dera Bugti were forcibly disappeared.
By contrast, BASC highlighted the state's response to two coordinated bombings claimed by ISIL on 7 February 2024, which killed at least 28 civilians in Pashto-speaking districts of Balochistan, including Pishin and Qilla Saifullah. Despite the scale of the attacks, BASC said no comparable retaliatory operations were carried out by the Pakistani military, exposing what it described as a troubling double standard in the state's response to violence.
BASC said it took Bugti's threats seriously and warned that families of political activists faced a heightened risk of systematic harassment, detention, intimidation, and collective punishment aimed at silencing dissent and suppressing opposition to state abuses in Balochistan. The organisation described this strategy of coercion through family persecution as a form of collective punishment and transnational repression that warranted international condemnation.
"These actions send a deeply damaging message to the international community and to all those who stand for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law," BASC said.
The organisation said the situation should be of particular concern to British parliamentarians and democratic institutions across Europe that engaged with members of the Balochistan provincial government, including Sarfraz Bugti, through programmes focused on democratic governance and public spending. BASC stated that UK taxpayers' money should not support officials whose actions directly contradicted the principles they claimed to uphold.
BASC called for urgent policy interventions, increased international scrutiny, and the use of diplomatic accountability mechanisms to prevent further human rights violations and to ensure the protection of civilians in Balochistan. (ANI)